D&D 5E Next Update? And State of D&D In General

Mercurius · May 22, 2013

Hi all,
I haven't been paying attention to the RPG world or reading forae for a few months at least and I just wanted to check-in to see what I've missed. In particular, any big news with regards to D&D Next? Is there a release date yet? What's the general tenor about Next on EN World - positive, negative, ambivalent? What's the state of D&D as a whole? It seems that they're continuing to release classic texts.

Anything new or interesting in the RPG world as a whole? Feel free to shoot with anything. Thanks!

MortalPlague · May 22, 2013

The tone seems have to be getting more and more positive of late. I'm personally a huge fan of what 5th Ed brings to the table, so I'm glad to see it.

There should be a new playtest packet coming out in the next few weeks. According to [MENTION=697]mearls[/MENTION], it should have a greater focus on flavor without sacrificing the mechanics. It's also going to showcase the 'subclasses'... for instance, we'll have 'gladiator', 'knight', and 'warrior' under the fighter umbrella, and probably a few more.

Sword of Spirit · May 22, 2013

Ever since the beginning, 5E has had both positive, negative, and ambivalent reactions. I'm personally a fan, and can go into more detail why if you are interested.

If you've seen the playtests from a few months ago, there are several upcoming changes. Feats are going to be totally retooled and increased in power. The plan is that you get ability bonuses as you level up, which you can trade for feats if desired. Each class is going to have some sort of subclasses within it that shares the basic features of the class, but have their own features and even potential subsystems (MortalPlague listed some examples). In addition, ranger, paladin, and druid are already available as full classes. We're looking at gnomes and half-elves (at least) for the upcoming packet(s), as well as multiclassing, a revised version of the skill system, and a revised version of the exploration rules (features in the current packet).

In publication, the basic version (think Red Box) will come with the core 4 classes, each prepackaged with the simplest iconic subclass, probably not include feats or skills, and have the most basic modules or options baked in. The standard game (PHB, DMG, MM, most likely) is going to contain skills, feats, more standard classes, and a broad spectrum of modules to adjust aspects of the game to fit many different styles.

There is no specified release date, but a good guess is GenCon 2014. It won't be this year (thankfully--I'd rather see it done well than done now).

GX.Sigma · May 23, 2013

Upcoming in the D&D Next rules:

Updated exploration rules integrated into core system (so e.g. Green Dragons can make their lairs difficult to navigate)
New interaction rules
Subclasses: Large, discrete, choices within each class. Different subclasses can use totally different mechanics (so there can be "simple fighter" and "complex fighter" subclasses). They will be based on flavor archetypes.
Feats: Feats will not be part of the core system. Your class will give you a +1 to an ability score of your choice every few levels; as a more advanced option, you can take a feat instead.
Skills: Skills will not be part of the core system. An optional skills system will be very similar to 3e and 4e.
Backgrounds: Backgrounds will not be packages of skills (because skills are optional). Instead, they will grant areas of knowledge (+10 bonuses to certain checks), proficiencies (which say you're able to do a specialized thing; i.e. sailing), and other benefits

Upcoming in D&D:

D&D's presence at Gen Con will be Baldur's Gate themed.
The first Sundering adventure, Murder in Baldur's Gate, will be released at Gen Con and concurrent in-store events which will also introduce the new Encounters season.
Both Gen Con and Game Day will feature "interactive" (multi-table) adventures (Gen Con: Confrontation at Candlekeep; Game Day: Vault of the Dracolich).
All of these will use the D&D Next rules (though Murder in Baldur's Gate will apparently be system-neutral, or at least 4e+D&DN).

TerraDave · May 23, 2013

what they said.

The WotCies have continued to really play test and throw a lot of stuff out there. They do seem to have reached a turning point in response however, with more positivity and less annoyance.

Quickleaf · May 23, 2013

Mercurius said:
Hi all,
I haven't been paying attention to the RPG world or reading forae for a few months at least and I just wanted to check-in to see what I've missed. In particular, any big news with regards to D&D Next? Is there a release date yet? What's the general tenor about Next on EN World - positive, negative, ambivalent? What's the state of D&D as a whole? It seems that they're continuing to release classic texts.

Anything new or interesting in the RPG world as a whole? Feel free to shoot with anything. Thanks!

[MENTION=6690511]GX.Sigma[/MENTION] covered all the main news.

Oh, there is a new D&D movie in production or pre-production, but it's tied up in litigation between Hasbro & Warner Bros/Courtney Solomon.

Personally, I mostly liked 5e after playtesting it and I have noticed 5e playtest groups at my FLGS and on my local RPG meetup page. However, the 5e system still seems to be in significant flux.

Ichneumon · May 23, 2013

Back in the L&L just before the last packet release, Mike Mearls said

we've finished up an internal packet with even more races and classes, along with multiclassing. Those will be the big pieces of our next packet.

It hasn't been revealed what those races and classes might be, but reasonable possibilities are any of the following: gnome, half-elf, half-orc, tiefling, dragonborn, bard, warlock, sorcerer. That along with the other changes mentioned promises to make the upcoming packet a feast.

Aspects of 5e still get criticism, but I think most of the people here want it to succeed and be a good game, either for them or others. I've playtested 5e since the beginning, and it's done a great job of keeping everyone in the group happy.

Mercurius · May 23, 2013

Thanks all, sounds very promising. Do I take it that it is relatively possible to run a full campaign now (with a bit of DM Fiat here and there)?

The only part I'm leery about is the D&D movie....is it being produced by the same folks that did the last two debacles?

Quickleaf · May 23, 2013

Mercurius said:
Thanks all, sounds very promising. Do I take it that it is relatively possible to run a full campaign now (with a bit of DM Fiat here and there)?

Yes, folks are doing it. Despite the playtest's state of flux.

The only part I'm leery about is the D&D movie....is it being produced by the same folks that did the last two debacles?

That's partly what the litigation will decide. If it goes to Hasbro, then it will be a new producer. If it goes to Warner Bros. then Courtney Solomon will co-produce again.

Dausuul · May 23, 2013

Mercurius said:
The only part I'm leery about is the D&D movie....is it being produced by the same folks that did the last two debacles?

Does it matter? It's going to suck anyway. You know it is. For one thing, it's a D&D movie. For another thing, the script is by the guy who wrote the remake of "Wrath of the Titans." Remember the brilliant plotting, expert pacing, and witty dialogue in that movie? Yeah, me neither.